R.I.P. Mike Howe of Metal Church

Serious bummer news. Metal Church vocalist Mike Howe has passed away.

The band posted this on their social media about an hour ago. I imagine that there will be more details later.

R.I.P. Mike!

This hit me hard, out of nowhere. R.I.P Mike

Two of my all time favorite singers are gone. John Wetton and now Mike Howe. This stings.

Wow, I'm at a loss for words. One of my favorite vocalists.RIP Mike and thanks for all the great music.

Wow I’m shocked! Seems like yesterday he rejoined the band. So glad I got to see him a couple times with them, even got a quick half hug while he was performing. Seemed like a really cool down to earth guy. Sad news.

RIP

I’m truly in shock!

Totally unexpected and sad news. His vocals on Blessing and Factor are some of the best in metal ever!



This is right up there with losing a guy like Hetfield and Mustaine (to me).

Horrible news!

Man, how can this be?  

He seemed to be in very good shape and healthy.

Yeah I was just listening to their latest release From the Vault. Guess I’ll be playing a lot more of his stuff tonight. Really sad news.

I recently had said that I was sorta disappointed with the reunion albums, but holy crap… I still wanted them to keep going! I always thought somehow they would hit the mark and recapture the old magic!

We are so lucky he came back and recorded these last couple albums with Metal Church.

RIP, brother Mike.

Big Rich wrote:

We are so lucky he came back and recorded these last couple albums with Metal Church.

RIP, brother Mike.

That is true! I need to go back and give them another spin. But now it’s different knowing he’s gone…

Damn, such shocking news. I just learnt about it.

He seemed in good shape, and i was hoping we'd get a new MC album soon.

RIP Mike, and thank you for all the music.

Troublezone wrote:

Man, how can this be?  

He seemed to be in very good shape and healthy.

That's what I thought too.

Gilbert wrote:

Damn, such shocking news. I just learnt about it.

He seemed in good shape, and i was hoping we'd get a new MC album soon.

RIP Mike, and thank you for all the music.

Maybe they have some pre-production demos for what would’ve been the next MC album. Just like Static-X did with Wayne Static’s vocals on their recent “tribute” album.

Troublezone wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Damn, such shocking news. I just learnt about it.

He seemed in good shape, and i was hoping we'd get a new MC album soon.

RIP Mike, and thank you for all the music.

Maybe they have some pre-production demos for what would’ve been the next MC album. Just like Static-X did with Wayne Static’s vocals on their recent “tribute” album.

I sure hope we still get something, in memory of Mike.

Unfortunately, things will never be the same again.

Gilbert wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Man, how can this be?  

He seemed to be in very good shape and healthy.

That's what I thought too.

You just never know anymore… maybe his family has a history of health conditions. None of us know if he was a heavy drinker or used narcotics in the past…

You can look great on the outside and still have underlying health problems. God forbid, I hope he didn’t take his own life. I had a co-worker that committed suicide last April.

A video i wanted to share, in memory of Mike:

I literally ordered three of their albums yesterday—From the Vault, XI, and Damned If You Do—and now he's dead. This is the second time something like this has happened and I feel weirdly guilty.

Wow, sad news indeed. I recently got my son into Metal Church. He likes their Damned if You Do album...

RIP

Eyesore wrote:

I literally ordered three of their albums yesterday—From the Vault, XI, and Damned If You Do—and now he's dead. This is the second time something like this has happened and I feel weirdly guilty.

All three albums are great and Mike really delivers .

Troublezone wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Man, how can this be?  

He seemed to be in very good shape and healthy.

That's what I thought too.

You just never know anymore… maybe his family has a history of health conditions. None of us know if he was a heavy drinker or used narcotics in the past…

You can look great on the outside and still have underlying health problems. God forbid, I hope he didn’t take his own life. I had a co-worker that committed suicide last April.

I have no idea of anything from his personal life, but he didn't seem like the heavy drinking drug abusing rock star type of guy. Just from the two times I saw him perform, I'd be shocked if he drank at all.

Wow. This came as a shock.

Such a great singer.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Man, how can this be?  

He seemed to be in very good shape and healthy.

That's what I thought too.

You just never know anymore… maybe his family has a history of health conditions. None of us know if he was a heavy drinker or used narcotics in the past…

You can look great on the outside and still have underlying health problems. God forbid, I hope he didn’t take his own life. I had a co-worker that committed suicide last April.

I have no idea of anything from his personal life, but he didn't seem like the heavy drinking drug abusing rock star type of guy. Just from the two times I saw him perform, I'd be shocked if he drank at all.

I agree. He looked very healthy.
So what could it be at age 55? That’s not the typical age to die from natural causes. I guess we’ll find out a month or so from now…

Here is a somewhat recent interview from last year.

It’s very surreal when the kid asks Mike a question about the Afterlife. Also, Mike explains that they were taking a break from MC so Kurdt could work on his other projects. That means there is probably little chance of any new unfinished songs laying around.

Troublezone wrote:

Wrecked Neck wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Man, how can this be?  

He seemed to be in very good shape and healthy.

That's what I thought too.

You just never know anymore… maybe his family has a history of health conditions. None of us know if he was a heavy drinker or used narcotics in the past…

You can look great on the outside and still have underlying health problems. God forbid, I hope he didn’t take his own life. I had a co-worker that committed suicide last April.

I have no idea of anything from his personal life, but he didn't seem like the heavy drinking drug abusing rock star type of guy. Just from the two times I saw him perform, I'd be shocked if he drank at all.

I agree. He looked very healthy.
So what could it be at age 55? That’s not the typical age to die from natural causes. I guess we’ll find out a month or so from now…

No clue what it could possibly be from. I just watched a few interviews and he seemed happy, healthy, balanced, and the subject of drinking came up and him and Kurdt both said they drink very little. This one is a shocker just because of how healthy he looked. And of course his age. I wonder if he had covid maybe? Sad whatever the cause.